Here's a little history note: 98 years ago today, the Ford Motor Co. launched the eight-hour work day and the $5-a-day. It was the fuel that turned Ford into a world giant.

We'll look back at some of the cars from that golden era in just a couple of minutes.

But first, here's what's going on in the car world:

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Carmakers sold an estimated 12.78 million vehicles in 2011, a 10 percent gain from 2010.

And it was a good year for Chrysler, General Motors, Nissan and Hyundai--all increased their share of the market last year. Ford, Toyota and Honda lost market share.

The Toyota Camry kept its position as the best-selling car, trailed closely by the Nissan Altima. The Ford F-series continues its decades-long reign as the best-selling truck.

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IndyCar team owner and retired driver Michael Andretti has a new boss--Donald Trump.

Andretti will be one of 18 contestants on the new season of the Celebrity Apprentice TV show. The partners and competitors include TV-show host Adam Carolla, model Cheryl Tiegs and rock singer Dee Snider.

The new season gets going on Feb. 12.

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Robby Gordon's run at the front of the pack in the Dakar Rally took a big hit on Wednesday as a result of a series of tire punctures.

Gordon started the day in second place. But the stops to fix the flats left him more than 16 minutes behind rally leader Stephane Peterhansel.

The good news: There are still 10 days of racing left to try and close the gap.

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OK, our friends in Southern California have a nice tradition to close out the year. They take out their classic cars and go for a drive.

West Coast editor Mark Vaughn joined the fun. Here's his report:

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Thanks, Mark.

And that's our report for today. Keep up with all of the news at autoweek.com.